Famous World Museums

Listed below are the top 10 museums worldwide (in no particular order)

IN EUROPE

» British Museum, London - Kept in one of England's architectural points of interest, its permanent collection adds up to around 8 million works of art, is among the finest and largest throughout the world. Art enthusiasts as well as newcomers will discover art and antiquities from ancient and present day civilizations spanning two million years. Popular attractions include the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian mummies, and Parthenon sculptures. Admission is free of charge.

» The Tate Museum, London - is Britain's national museum exhibits international modern and contemporary art where you can view artworks from Matisse, Picasso, Dalí, Pollock, and countless others. The Tate located on the baks of the Thames River consists of the Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online. With approximately 4.7 million visitors yearly, the Tate is the most-visited modern art gallery across the globe (source: Wikipedia)

» The Vatican Museums, Rome - Features some of the world's finest art collections. One will uncover a massive archive of cherished gems from historic periods and the Renaissance, completely preserved in a labyrinthine series of extravagantly decorated palaces, apartments, and galleries. One is simply engulfed in art and beauty as you walk into the Sistine Chapel, the exhibition rooms of the Vatican Apostolic Library and the actual museums.

» Museu Nacional del Prado, Madrid   - Regarded as a significant landmark from Madrid's abundant art history, holds a collection of paintings that showcases artwork by the biggest names in European art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Additionally, you will find collections of drawings, prints and sculptures and lots of examples of decorative arts and historical documents

» The Ufizzi, Florence, Italy - Considered a must see when visitng Florence, Uffizi displays works from all the major Renaissance artists, including Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Veronse, Giorgione, and some wonderful Caravaggios. It is packed with countless works of stunning art from the renaissance period and statues. All paintings are generally shown in chronological order. More than a few people who went per TripAdvisor recommend to get your tickets online prior to going or you'll end up waiting in line for three hours or more.

» The Louvre, Paris (Musee du Louvre) 99 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France - The Louvre Museum, past residence of the kings of France, is one of the largest museums in the world with 35,000 pieces of art. Its collections are distributed across 8 sections: Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Islamic Art, Near Eastern Antiquities, Paintings, Sculptures, Decorative Arts, and Prints and Drawings dating back to the Middle Ages up to 1848. It is mostly famous for housing the Mona Lisa, The Raft of Medusa, Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace, along with Da Vinci pieces. Many who visit will attest that one day is not enough to see everything.
Admission: 12 €. Free for EU students

» The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain stores various works of art from the 20^th century. It is regarded as one the most interesting structures of its period, a stunning building designed by Canadian architect rank Gehry, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has enjoyed more than ten years of incredible success and uniqueness with no straight walls, all curvy. Its headline feature are the works of Richard Serra .

» The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia - One of the largest museums in Europe, its collection includes well over three million works of art and artifacts from world culture. Among them are the countless art masterpieces from Picasso and Monet to da Vinci and other paintings, graphic art, sculptures and works of applied art, archaeological discoveries, plus currency and coin collections. The main architectural ensemble of the Hermitage, located in the heart of St Petersburg, features the Winter Palace, the past residence of Russian emperors.

IN THE U.S.A.

» Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City - The Met's mission is to conserve, educate, exhibit, and inspire appreciation of the more than two millions works of art it features comprising five thousand years. Another equally important goal is to strengthen the understanding of pieces of art that collectively account for the largest array of achievements by mankind at an unsurpassed level of quality all dedicated to the public.

» The Smithsonian, Washington, DC - A great place to visit when touring the the the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the Smithsonian is crowned the world's largest museum complex and research organization consisting of 19 museums, 9 research centers and the National Zoo. Favorites include the Natural History Museum, Museum of American History and souvenirs from the 18th and 19th century.

» MoMa(Museum of Modern Art), New York City - Moma's objective is to collect the established and the experimental, the past and the present of all people. It's collection includes drawings, painting and sculpture, abstract art, architectural works and design, photography, prints, illustrated books, film, and media. You'll find famous pieces from Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Warhol and numerous others.
Admission $14. FREE for SUNY/CUNY students with ID.